Page 3 of The Silent Mountain
Watching her makes me realize I do want to take her on this ride. I want to show her my lands. I want her to like it here. “I’m a bit different than other dragon shifters,” I say. “I am not bound to these lands.”
“What?” she asks in surprise.
“Our dragons are bound to the lifeforce that they feel in the lands they are connected to. For us, it means we can fly through this area but also over your kingdom, but the moment we enter a completely new realm, we can only last a few minutes up in the air.” I pause. “I don’t have these limits.”
“Because you are a golden dragon?” she asks curiously.
“Because I am blessed,” I say. “My golden shape is a result of being blessed.”
“You are the last one, aren’t you? Did the others all pass?”
“Originally, we were more, but the golden dragons were all slaughtered by our enemies.” I pause. “One of my children will one day carry on and have the same genes,” I add.
“And what if you are mated to a werewolf?” Alana asks quietly.
“I’m sure the deities had a plan when they mated a dragon and a wolf together,” I say.
A smile curls Alana’s lips. “Take me on a ride,” she says. “I’m curious.”
Dragons don’t usually have an inner voice or a spirit they can talk to. For me, it’s different. I have two souls in me. One is my dragon, who shares a soul with me, and the other is the soul of a deity. It’s a second spirit in me, the deity who blessed me and lends me their power. We have an agreement, a contract almost. Most of the time, I own my body, but when the necessity arises, the deity in me can take over. In exchange, I was gifted with important powers to keep my people safe. The deity and I can talk to each other and communicate, whereas my dragon does not have a voice. He has emotions, though, and I can clearly feel them now as he is looking forward to spending time with his mate.
Before he can do so, however, the deity in me pushes forward. She barely comes forward, so when she wants to, bound to our contract, I always let her. I can feel my body changing slightly to adapt to her look and take a step back while my counterpart comes forward. “Hello, hello,” she whispers, reaching out her slender fingers to lift Alana’s chin. “My beautiful fire-haired princess.”
“Favia,” Alana says. “It’s been a while.”
Favia looks like she is my twin sister. She does not have a body of her own in the mortal world, but she can change mine to resemble her female nature. In a way, she looks like me if I were a woman, though her hair is longer, and her features are a bit softer. Other than that, we truly look like twins. She is much bolder and more direct than I am, which only makes sense, seeing how she is a deity.
Favia twirls a lock of Alana’s red hair between her fingers. “How about we show you the ocean, my princess?”
“Oh, I love the beach,” Alana says.
“I am not talking about the beach,” Favia smirks. “Have you never gone beyond it?”
“No… the ocean that my kingdom borders is too wild to travel by ship,” she admits.
“Then how about traveling by dragon?” Favia offers.
Alana looks sincerely shocked at her suggestion. Before she can recover, Favia returns and hands me back the reins. She was just curious and wanted to talk to Alana herself. Now that I am in control again, I shift to my majestic golden dragon form, my dragon’s scales shimmering under the afternoon sun.
“I have so many questions,” Alana mutters. “Favia’s existence is still such a mystery.” She shakes her head as if to chase her thoughts away. “Later,” she says, before eyeing my dragon form. She hesitates for a second but then climbs on my back, holding on tightly to the edges of my wings. I use the tip of my tail to poke her a bit, making her laugh. “Okay, I got it. You are flexible, King Favian.”
I laugh inwardly before I take off, trying to move upwards steadily and slowly so she won’t be in danger. Once we are up in the air, I pick up my pace and glide through the sky. I make sure to show her the whole kingdom of the Silent Mountain. I start with the area she already partly knows… where the castle, houses and other buildings are. Similar to the werewolves, we live in a town of sorts, with a self-sufficient system. We grow our food or go on hunts, and we have a school and a few smaller shops. Recently, through our relations to the werewolf kingdom, we have started to trade with them. Mineral raw materials and gemstones are something dragons can easily detect and produce, exchanging them for supplies from the Kingdom of Eternal Ice.
Unlike the werewolves, we don’t have smaller packs all around the kingdom. While my kingdom isn’t necessarily small, our main town, our clan, is the only inhabited area. I pass by the forest, noting how Alana comments that this could be a lovely riding path.
If that’s what she wants, I will make it happen.
In my dragon form, I can reach the highest points, where no humans or animals can pass through due to the height, cold, and the roughness of the landscape. It’s a majestic view, and I can hear Alana gasp now and then. There are little platforms and caves on a few mountains, which we dragons built in case we need to take a break and want to rest or seek shelter. Once we move past the mountains, I fly downwards towards the broad beach.
There is an actual path leading from the castle to it, but it’s long and not particularly easy to walk through.
“It’s amazing,” Alana whispers. “I know it’s a mostly uninhabited area due to its nature, but the mountains and the ocean… It’s truly breathtaking.”
I’m so relieved she likes it. To impress her further, I make sure we pass the beach and fly right towards the ocean. Below us, the water is dark and wild, but the further we get, the calmer the ocean appears until a beautiful, deep blue surrounds us.
Alana is entirely silent. I’m not sure if it’s out of amazement or not, but I hope she likes it. On our way back, I can feel her loosening her grip and opening her arms while the salty air from the ocean breezes around us.
“I have never felt so free,” she mutters. “Is this how you always feel when you fly through the air?”
